Process for cooling and reducing nitrate of lime.



I. HECHENBLEIKNER. PROCESS FOR COOLING AND REDUCING NITRATE 0F LIME.

V JlELlCAIlQNHF'lLED AUG.l3, 1914.

L1$fi$5 r I Patented June 22, 1.915.

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$13 I) i 5 wen nu s INHENUIN HEGEENBLEIKNJEE, 01E GREAT FALLS, SGJIU'EH OLINA, ASSIGNOR T0 SUU'IN ELECTRO-CHEMKCAL :COMPMY, 015 NEW YOEK, N. Y., A C0 TIM 03 NEW tiSJEY. l

JPRQGESS E035 COULING ANJD REDUGING NJlTEfiTlEIDF LIME.

Specification of Letters ,lPatent.

Patented June 22, JlWl-E.

Application filed. August 13, 19M. Serial Nor'ffididfi.

' Carolina, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes for Cooling and Reducing Nitrate of Lime, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process of manufacturing nitrate of lime and resides more particularly in an im-\ proved manner of rapidly cooling and hardening the liquid nitrate of lime, which has been previously concentrated in a suitable evaporating apparatus, and of reducing this hard material to any required fineness.

It is a we'll known fact that nitrate of lime is a hygroscopic substance and if there is considerable moisture contained in the air, the material rapidly becomes damp and sticky. On the other hand, the liquid nitrate of lime slowly hardens when exposed to the atmosphere. This is a very serious disadvantage, especially in hot climates. It has been found that it will take from 4 to 6 days before the liquid material completely crystallizes when placed in a pot which is provided with a cover. It has been also found that the use of screens and of conveying and elevating machinery in connection with the treatment of nitrate of lime, is the source of many operating diliiculties. The ground material is not-disposed of sufficiently fast and the result is that some of the material liquefies, and if, in addition, the grinding machinery generates considerable heat, the melting'nitrate of lime will be precipitated. As soon as the heat is dissipated from the molten material, part of this nitrate of lime willset to hard masses and clog up the passage for the pulverized material.

The object of the present invention is to overcome all of the above named dificulties, and to this end I have provided an improved process of cooling and reducing the nitrate of lime, which I will describe in detail hereafter in connection with a suitable apparatus adapted for carrying the invention into efiect.

In the accompanying drawing, an embodiment of the invention is diagrammatically shown.

Figure l is an elevation of a complete apparatus for carrying out the process. Fig. 2 is a top view of the cooling apparatus on an enlarged scale. 1F ig. 3 is a vertical sec tion through the mold and the bars or obstructions upon which the cakes are broken up. In Fig. l the cooling apparatus is shown partly in elevation and partly in section on the line 1+2, Fig. 2.

Like reference letters denote corresponding-parts in the several views.

The liquid nitrate of lime concentrated in some suitable evaporating apparatus a is discharged through the pipe-line 0 into the cooling apparatus 015 by opening the valve 6.

The cooling apparatus at suitable for use in this process and one form of which is shown in the drawing, is a vessel of some suitable size, the interior of which is divided into a plurality of small separated or spaced cells or compartments 6. lln, these cells or molds ll collect the molten nitrate so as to form segregated pools of fluid nitrate. These compartments or cells a are closed on one side by the bottomf of the vessel d, whereas'the top of the cells '6 is open. The horizontal spaces 9' between the cells are closed up and connected with the vertical walls of the cells e and of the vessel 0! at some suitable distance below the rim h ofthe vessel (1. For reasons presently to' be made clear, the cells 6 are preferably tapered with the smaller area toward the bottom 7. Apipe '10 near the bottom f and another pipe Z near the top 9 connect'with the spaces m between the cells 6.

The vessel 0! is supported by the two bearings' n and 0, and by some suitable means as by a handle or other device attached to one of the trunnions p, q, the vessel (1 can be turned around the axis formed by said trunnions, which are part of the vessel By some suitable device such as'a pin r, the vessel d maybe held against movement and in the desired horizontal or in some other position.

Now, the liquid nitrate of lime after having passed through the pipeline 0 is discharged into the cells 6 of the cooling apparatus (Z. When the cells are completely filled with the nitrate of lime the valve 6 will be closed shutting 0d further flow. During the filling of the cells a suitable cooling medium such as water is caused to flow from the pipeline 7: through the spaces m around the cells e and discharges through the pipeline Z. This circulation of cooling water is continued until the nitrate of lime .is'hardened and formed into relatively small cakes the size of which depends upon the size of the cells. In order to be able to quickly remove the hardened nitrate of lime, steam or hot water from some suitable source is circulated through the same spaces m around the cells e and in the same way as the cooling water, the heating medium passing through a branch is of the pipe in, suitable valves being arranged in the pipe is and its branch is to control the flow of either the cooling or the heating medium as desired; The effect will be that in a very short while the nitrate of lime cakes thaw up around the walls of the cells 6 to permit easy removal thereof. The cooling apparatus d is then turned about 180 degrees around the axis formed by the trunnions p and 9, it being understood that all obstructions, as for instance the mouthpiece of the pi eline 0, have been previously removed.

ue to gravity, the cakes of nitrate of lime slide out from the cells e, which sliding is facilitated by the tapered shape of the The whole mass then falls on the grate s, which consists of bars of some suitable material with sharp edges on the upper side, suitably spaced, causing a breaking up of the nitrate of lime blocks into pieces of desired size. This broken material further drops into the boot t of the bucket elevator u, which immediately conveys the nitrate of lime pieces through the chute '0 into the crusher to "so that the lime is reduced while still in a cold state. The preliminary crusher w discharges thebroken pieces of smaller size directly ,into some suitable pulverizer mill at.

The nitrate of lime reduced to the required fineness in powder in the pulverizer mill a: is immediately drawn away through the pipeline y by the air current produced by means of the' exhaust fan 2 and is blown into the cyclone collector (1 Due to suction caused by the fan a, fresh air continuously passes through the pulverizer mill :0 and keeps the material cool, thus preventing a melting of the nitrate of lime. The finished product is then discharged into a receptacle such as the barrel 0 or some other suitable container, by opening the gate 6 of the cyclone collector a.

Instead of using. one cooling apparatus d only, two or more cooling apparatus may be employed by maklng suitable provision for conveying the same to any, desired place. The'coolingsurfaces of the cooling apparatus (Z, the mode of circulation of the cooling water and of the hot water or steam, respec- It is to be understood that the embodiment of the invention described above is only one of the many embodiments or forms the invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the construction of my claims, nor in the practice of my invention, to the particular embodiment set forth.

What I claim is 1. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium around said pools to harden the nitrate of lime into separated cakes and then pulverizing the cakes. i

2. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in molds in the form of segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium around said pools to harden the nitrate of lime into separated cakes, then comminuting the cakes and passing an air blast over the nitrate of lime while it is being comminuted to prevent the nitrate of lime from becoming heated.

3. The rocessof treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium around said pools to harden the nitrate of lime into separated cakes, then softening the walls of the cakes by heat to free them from the walls of the molds, then dislodging the cakes from the molds and reducing the cakes to a finely divided state.

. 4. The process of treating fluid nitrate of arated cakes, then comminuting the cakes and passing an air blast over the nitrate of lime while it is being comminuted to prevent the nitrate of lime from becoming heated and carrying the nitrateof lime to the point of delivery on an air current.

6. The process of treating fluidnitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in molds in segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium around said pools to harden the same into cakes, pulverizing said cakes thereafter, passing an air current over the nitrate of lime while being pulverized to cool the nitrate of lime and carry the same to the point where the finished nitrate of lime is delivered.

7. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in molds in segregated pools, artificially cooling said molds to harden said pools into cakes, then softening the walls of the cakes by heat to free them from the walls of the pieces are still in a cold state.

8. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in molds-in segregated pools, artificially coolingsaid molds to harden said pools into cakes, then softening the walls of the cakes by heat to free them from the walls of the molds, then dropping the cakes from the molds upon an obstruction to break up the cakes, then immediately reducing the broken pieces of the cakes to a powder while said pieces are still in a cold state.

9. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in a plurality of adjacent segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium between and around said pools to harden the nitrate of lime into separated solid cakes and thenvremoving and pulverizing the cakes.

10. The process of treating fluid nitrate of lime which consists in collecting the same in a plurality of adjacent segregated pools, circulating a cooling medium between and 'aroundsaid PO)lS to harden the nitrate of lime into separated solid'cakes, dislodging the cakes and causing them to move against an obstruction to break up the cakes and then pulverizing the same.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

INGENUIN HECHENBLEIKNER.

Witnessesz.

E. N. BUoHE, E. O. MARSHALL. 

